Rotary engine



June. 2, 1931. F. E. TlDD I ROTARY ENGINE Filed A ril so. 1928 2Sheets-Sheet 1 June 2, 1931. F; E. TlDD ROTARY ENGINE Filed April 50,1928 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. /T?. -/r E. 7/00 ATTORNEYS.

Patented June 2, 1931 PATENT OFFICE FRANK E. T1131), YERINGTON, NEVADAROTARY Application filed April 30,

My invention relates to improvements in a rotary engine, and it consistsin the combinations, constructions, and arrangements hereinafterdescribed and claimed. I

An object of my invention is to provide a rotary engine that employsnovel means for compressing the gas prior to its entrance into thecombustion chamber. A valve controls the flow of compressed gas into thechamber and in this way the speed of the engine is controlled.

A further object of my invention is to provide a device of the typedescribed that employs an automatic spark for igniting the gas,

this spark occurring after the gas has been admitted into the combustionchamber.

The spark is timed for igniting the gas when the piston starts itsfiring stroke or when the piston has partially moved through its firingstroke.

A further object of my invention is to provide a device of the typedescribed that makes use of a novel method for lubricating the pistonvanes.

Other objects and advantages will appear in the followingspecifications, and the novel features of my invention will beparticularly pointed out in what I hereinafter claim.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings forming a partof this application, in which:

Figure 1 is a section along the line 1-1 of Figure 2;

Figure 2 is a section along the line 22 of Figure 1;

Figure the rotor;

Figure 4 is a side view of Figure 3;

Figures 5 and 6 show elements for sealing the moving parts;

Figure 7 is a side elevation of a vane Figure 8 is a perspective view ofa sealing element for the vane;

Figure 9 is a section along the line 9-9 of Figure 7 Figure 10 is asection along the line 10-10 of Figure 2;

Figure 11 is a perspective view of a vane guide; and

3 is a top plan view of a portion of ENGINE 1928. Serial No. 274,034.

Figure 12 is a erspective view of an element used with t e vane.

In carrying out my invention I provide a stator 1, see Figures 1 and 2.In the stator I mount a rotor 2. This rotor is carried by a shaft 3which constitutes a power takeoff shaft. The rotor 2 has a plurality ofradially extending slots 3 therein, these slots having enlarged recessesl that extend throughout a portion of the length of the slots. In eachslot I mount a vane of a particular construction.

Figures 3, 4, 7, and 9 show the particular type of vane. The vane'has abody portion 5 that extends substantially across the width of the rotor2, see Figure 3. This vane is supported by an upright 6 and is movablyconnected to a cross piece 7 having a length substantially the same asthe width of the vane. The upright is hollow and slidably p receives acylindrical member 8. A spring 9 is interposed between the member 8 andthe bottom of the recess in the upright 6. The member 8 carries fins 10that are slidably received in slots 11 in the upright 6. This prevents aturning movement between the cross-piece 7 and the vane 5.

The vane is slipped into the slot 3 in the manner shown in Figure 4. Thecross-piece 7 bears against cams 12 carried by the side walls of thestator 1, see Figure 1. The cams are of the shapes shown by the dottedlines in Figure 2. A turning of the rotor will cause the cross-piece 7to ride upon the cams and to move the ends of the vanes 5 toward andaway from the periphery of the rotor 2, thereby causing the vanes tocontact with the irregularly-shaped inner surface 13 of the stator. Thesprings automatically take up any wear between the vanes and the stator,and causethe vanes to contact with the stator in a manner to preventleakage of gas thereby. a

The stator is provided with a combustion 9r chamber 14 that communicateswith an eX- 0 haust passageway 15 and a compression chamber 16 thatcommunicates with an intake pipe 17 and a storage reservoir 18. Theintake pipe 17 is connected to a carburetor, not

shown, which will deliver the correct mixture I munieation is cut offbetween reservoir to be removed when r part 26 extends.

of gas to the engine. The gas passes through the pipe 17 and then intothe com pression chamber 16. The vanes 5 force the gas from the chamber16 into the storage reservoir 18, the gases passing through a passageway19. A check valve 20 is disposed in this passageway for preventing thefiow of gas from the reservoir 18 back into the compression chamber 16.

It is well to note at this point that the stator 1 has a section A thatcarries the storage reservoir 18, a valve 21, to be hereinafterdescribed, and an ignition device 22. Bolts 23 removably secure thesection A to the stator and when this section is removed, access may behad to any one of the vanes carried by the rotor. Bolts 24 secure thestorage reservoir 18 to the section A and permit this desired.

I will now describe the valve 21. This valve is shown in Figures 2 and10. The valve has a conical-shaped hollow body 25 that has openings 27therein. The body 25 seats in a conical sleeve formed of two parts 26and 26. The two parts extend longitudinally the length of the valve andhave their adjacent edges spaced from each other for providing a port 29that may be changed in s1ze.

To effect this change, the part 26 is movably disposed between the body25 and a cover plate 33. The plate 33 has an opening through which ahandle 31 The handle may be manually moved to vary the size of the port29. The part 26 is secured against movement by a set screw 31.

The part 26' has a large opening 28 communicating with the storagechamber 18. In the present drawin s I have shown five vanes and tenopenings 27. One of these openings is always in registration with theopening 28, and therefore the same gas pressure is maintained in theinterior .of the body 25 as is maintained in the chamber 18. The port 29re 'sters with a passageway 30.

he parts 26 and 26 are carried in grooves 27 in the cover plate 33.

The valve 25 1s mounted upon a shaft 24 and this shaft is operativelyconnected to the main shaft 3 by a chain and sprockets 35. In this waythe valve is timed with the rotation of the rotor 2 and brings itsopenings 27 into alignment with the openings 28 and 29 at the propertimes.

- Gas flows from the opening 29 through the passa eway 30 and against aflap valve 36 see i re 2 The valve swin s to uncover the passageway andpermits the gas to enter the combustion chamber 14. soon as comthe valve25 and the passageway 30, the flap valve 36 will drop into the positionshown by gravity.

e flap valve 36 swings into closed position, it moves a terminal 37 awayfrom an a combustion chamber integral with the adjustable terminal 38. Awire, not shown, is connected to the terminal 38 and the terminal 37 isgrounded. A spark will therefore jump between the terminals as they aremoved apart, and this will ignite the gas within the 14 The exploded gaswill force the vane 5 in a clockwise direction.

The chamber is relatively long, and therefore the full force of theexpanding gases is utilized in the power stroke prior to the passage ofthe gases out through the exhaust port 15. It will be seen that varyingthe amount of opening between the valve and passageway 30 would cause agreater or lesser amount of gas to be forced into the combustion chamber14. This will vary the length of time it takes for the flap valve 36 toclose, which in turn will vary the timing of the explosion stroke. Alarge quantity of gas admitted to the combustion chamber 14 willtherefore cause the vane 5 to move a considerable distance before theflap valve 36 can move away for creating the necessary spark.

I have shown a Water compartment 39 having an inlet pipe 40 and anoutlet pipe 41.

his compartment keeps the engine cool in the usual manner.

I have also shown a novel oiling mechanism. Figure 1 shows an oil cup 42contain-' ing a quantity of oil. This'oil feeds into a chamber 43 andfrom there into a passageway 44 to the center of the shaft 3. Thepassageway 44 communicates with an annular groove 45 in the rotor 2. Oilducts 46 lead from the groove 45 to the vanes 5.

Reference to Figure 11 shows a perspective View of a bearing plate 47. Aplate is disposed on each side of each vane 5 and adjacent to theperiphery of the rotor 2. One of these plates (there are two for eachvane) has an opening 48 that communicates with the duct 46 and with anoil groove 49. The groove extends transversely to a keeper plate 50 andfeeds oil into slots 51 in this plate. The plate is secured to one sideof the vane 5 by bolts 52, or other suitable fastening means, see Figure4. Inter-posed between the keeper 50 and the vane 5 is a wick 53. Thiswick is held in place by pins 54 that project from the face of the vane5, see Figure 7, and enter openings in the wick, see the opening inFigure 2. The wick is saturated with oil fed from the slots 51 andgroove 49, and this oil is conveyed to the end and sides of the wick 1by centrifugal force. In this way the inner surface 13 of the stator 1is lubricated. Of course, there is a wick for each vane and a keeper foreach wick.

The rotor is provided with segmental sealing rings 55 of the shape shownin Figure 5. These rings are received in grooves 56 fashioned in thesides of the rim 57 of the rotor 2. The plates 47 have notches 58 forreceiving the ends of the ring sections 55, see F igring sections willabut ures 4 and 11. In this way the ends of the against the vanes 5. Thecombined slots 3' and 4 extend to the periphery of the rotor 2. Theseslots are out still deeper for providing recesses 59, see Figure 4:, forreceiving the plates 47. The plates have ears 60 and these ears extendbeneath the rim 57 and straddle the web 60' of the rotor. The ears haveslots 61 for receiving screws 62 by means of which the plates aresecured to the rotor. The sectional rings 55 are yieldingly held 1ncontact with the sides of the stator by corrugated sectional rings 63,see Figure 6, that are interposed between the rotor and the rings 55,note the wavy dotted lines in Figure 3 denoting the rings 63.

The edges of the vanes 5 are provided with sealing means which are inthe shape of T shaped members 64, shown in Figure 8. The edges of eachvane are provided with grooves 65, see Figure 3, for receiving themembers 64:. Corrugated rings 66 are placed between the wall of the vaneand the member 64. The members 64 are prevented from moving in alongitudinal direction with respect to the .vanes by pins 67, see Figure7, that are carried by the vanes and. enter notches 68.

The engine is designed to combine the four of an internal combustionengine, i. e., intake, compression, explosion, and exhaust, in a singlecycle. The greater number of the working parts of the standard engineare eliminated, such as pistons, connectoperations ing rods, valves,cam, shaft, gears, et cetera..

The shock of the explosion is away from the bearing which permitscompression charge.

The full force of the burning gases is expended on the vanes due to thelong combustion chamber disposed at the outside of the rotor and to theclear unobstructed passage to the open air through a large exhaust port.The use of a separate compression chamber larger in size than thecombustion chamber, permits a greater quantity of gas under a highercompression to be delivered to the combustion chamber than is possiblewhere both compression and combustion chambers are one as in a standardengine. Carbon deposits are unlikely because the action of the bladeswipes the walls clean.

The oiling system delivers oil to the wall of the stator with the aid ofcentrifugal force. The exhaust end of the combustion chamber is abouttwenty per cent larger than the ignition end. This provides an everincreasing blade area to the gases as they expend themselves, therebyproviding a more uniform power stroke.

The rotary valve is provided with double the number of openings as thenumber of vanes. The valve can therefore be rotated at one-half thespeed of the shaft 3. The engine can be air or water cooled because theuse of a higheronly one-fifth of the surface of the stator is subject tothe heat of the explosion. Each of the blades is the equivalent of twocylinders of the present four cycle engine. The number of vanes may bevaried at will.

A governor to the compression chamber 18 is shown in Figure 2. A pipecommunicates with the chamber 18 and with a cylinder 76. The cylindercarries apiston 77, and a piston rod 78, pivoted to the piston, has itsopposite end connected to an arm 79. The arm 79 controls a butterflyvalve 80 in the inlet pipe 17.

The piston 77 is urged in one direction by a spring 81. The cylinder 76is provided with an enlarged portion for receiving the spring. One endof the spring bears against an end wall 82, while its other end bearsagainst a support 83 secured to the piston rod.

The piston 77 is moved to swing the valve 80 into closed position whenthe pressure within chamber 18 reaches a predetermined point, and thespring moves the piston in the opposite direction as soon as thepressure falls, thus opening the valve and admitting more gas to buildthe'pressure up to standard. In this way a constant pressure ismaintained within chamber 18 irrespec tive of speed, and the engine iscontrolled by opening or closing port 29, the port permitable fasteningmeans 'may be employed for securing the block in place such as bolts 85that have their ends secured in the block B and their midportionsadjustable in'the slots 86 in the stator 1.

Although I have shown and described one embodiment of my invention, itis to be understood that the same is susceptible of vari ous changes,and I reserve the right'to em ploy suchchanges as may come within thescope of the invention as claimed.

, Iclaim:

1. In a rotary engine, a combustion chamber, a gas'i'nlet for saidchamber, a timed valve for causing said inlet to intermittently delivera gas to said chamber and spark-controlling means consisting of astationary terminal and-a movable terminal, said movable terminal beingcontrolled by gravity when the compressed gas ceases toflow into saidchamber.

2. In a rotary engine, a stator, a rotor, a combustion chamber, a valvefor delivering gases under pressure to said combustion chamber, meansfor varying the amount of opening of said valve for deliveringpredetermined quantities of gas to said combustion chamber, a spark plugconsisting of a fixed member and a movable member, said movable memberdropping away from the fixed member when gas ceases to fiow from thevalve into the combustion chamber, the movement of said member away fromthe first one causing a spark, which will ignite the gases only when theentireamount of charge is received in the combustion chamber.

3. A valve for a rotary engine comprising a casing having an inletopening and an outlet opening, means for varying the size of the outletopening, and a rotary valve disposed within said casing and havingopenings of a predetermined size, said openings registering with theinlet and outlet openings for permitting the entrance of gas into thevalve and out from the valve through the outlet opening in the casing.

4. In a rotary engine, a combustion chamber, a gas inlet for saidchamber, means for causing said inlet to intermittently deliver a gas tosaid chamber and spark-controlling means consisting of a stationaryterminal and a movable terminal, said movable terminal being controlledby gravity when the Igompressed gas ceases to flow into said cham- 5. Ina rotary engine, a stator, a rotor, a combustion chamber, a valve fordelivering gases under pressure to said combustion chamber, a spark plugconsisting of a fixed member and a movable member, said movable memberdropping away from the fixed member when gas ceases to 'flow from thevalve into the combustion chamber, the movement of said member away fromthe first one causing a spark.

6. In a rotary engine, a stator, a rotor, a combustion chamber, meansfor delivering gases under pressure to said combustion chamber, meansfor varying the amount of opening of said valve for deliveringpredetermined quantities of gas to said combustion chamber, a spark plugconsisting of a fixed membed and a movable member, said movable memberdropping away from the fixed member when gas ceases to flow from thevalve into the combustion chamber, the movement of said member away fromthe first one causing a spark, which will ignite the gases only when theentire amount of charge is received in the combustion chamber.

7 In a rotary engine, a combustion chamber, vanes movable therein, achamber for holding gases under pressure, a timed valve for deliveringgas from the compression chamber to the combustion chamber, and meansfor varying the size of the valve opening for causin 'difi'erentquantities of gas to enter the combustion chamber, these difi'erentquantities being-at the same pressure.

FRANK E. TIDD.

